Healing Nutrition

In cancer treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy may change how you taste flavors from foods. About 50-70% of patients with cancer suffer from taste disorders (1).

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You might have food perception changes in how you perceive food taste, finding bad taste in all foods or being unable to perceive food taste (2). Changes in taste are experienced as metallic, bitter, salty, or sweet. Protein foods like red meat can leave a metallic taste in your mouth, while sweet foods can start to taste bitter.

 

During chemotherapy, your taste may be altered and commonly last for a short period. On the contrary, changes in taste due to radiation may be gradual and more lasting (3). Along with these taste changes, your appetite may decrease, leading to weight loss and malnutrition.

 

Taste changes have physical and psychological consequences for those suffering from them. Although they are usually transitory and disappear after treatment, several of these disorders can last longer (3, 4, 5). Impaired taste function was reported in almost all radiotherapy studies, occurring as early as week 3 of treatment and lasting for 3 to 24 months post-treatment (15). 

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Taste changes can lead to reduced food enjoyment leading to inadequate nutrient intake, and weight loss with a high impact on nutritional status and quality of life.  

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If you have difficulty eating, let your healthcare team know so they can help you determine an adequate diet. 

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Managing Taste Changes

 

 

Make frequent attempts throughout the day to keep trying different foods to find what tastes best in the moment and try only small bites at a time. It is important to avoid cigarette smoking, and eliminate bad odors, eat in pleasant surroundings and increase your fluid intake. 

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• Change the temperature of your foods.​​

  • For example, eat cold foods like cold cereals, cold sandwiches, pasta salads, overnight oats, hummus, couscous salad, and quinoa salad to perceive less flavor and aromas. On the contrary, hot meals bring strong odors that could trigger nausea as well. 

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• Change the texture of your foods.

  • You may like more mashed potatoes than roasted potatoes

  • Soft bread than crunchy crackers

  • Applesauce than apple slices 

  • Banana than banana with crunched cereal

  • Plain yogurt than yogurt with granola 

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• Alternate bites of different-tasting foods.

  • Apple with cinnamon

  • Watermelon and feta cheese

  • Cheese and jam

  • Cottage cheese with peaches or pineapple 

  • Dark chocolate with sea salt 

  • Grilled cheese with tomato soup 

  • Banana and peanut butter 

  • Roasted nuts or peanut butter and dark chocolate 

  • Grapes and cheddar cheese. 

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• Sour and tart foods may help stimulate your taste.

  • Tamarind 

  • Kimichi/Sauerkraut

  • Mustard Greens

  • Horseradish pickles 

  • Rhubarb 

  • Lemon/Limes

  • Kumquats 

  • Pomelo 

  • Cranberries 

  • Tart cherries  

  • Guava 

  • Gooseberry 

  • Kombucha 

  • Vinegars

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Foods to Eat with Taste and Smell Changes

 

Acidic Taste

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• Try balancing it with a sweet flavor. 

  • Add honey, jam, fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe, or fruit-based salsa, sweet salad dressing, or cranberry sauce. 

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• Try drinking fruit juices or sour drinks like lemonade and cranberry juice.  

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• Try herbs and spices such as basil, parsley, dill, sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and mint.  

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• Marinate chicken, turkey or fish in sauces, fruit juices, or squeeze lemon juice on them.  

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• Try other protein choices like eggs, chicken, fish, yogurt, beans, lentils, nuts, peanut butter, almond butter, and soy-based foods like tofu and soy milk. 

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Salty, Sour, or Bitter Taste

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• Choose foods that are naturally sweet and add sweeteners to foods.

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• Add dry fruit and honey to yogurt, oatmeal, bread, and other foods.

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• Eat boiled food to reduce flavor, such as boiled potatoes and boiled eggs.

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• Avoid processed meats, seasonings, and prepackaged meals. 

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Too Sweet Taste

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• Try balancing it with an acid (lemon, lime juice or other citrus, or vinegar). 

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• Drink beverages that are not overly sweetened like sports drinks, lemonade, and vegetable juices.

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• Choose bland or sour flavors. 

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• Choose more vegetables over fruits. 

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• Dilute sweet drinks with water. 

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• Add a pinch of salt to the food.  

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Metallic or Bitter Taste

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• Eat citrus fruits and drink citrus juices like lemonade and orange juice. 

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• Add citrus like limes, lemons, and orange to foods to disguise the metallic taste. 

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• Sour foods and other vinegar-based items like dressings, olives and pickles.

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• Choose chicken, fish, and tofu instead of red meats. 

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• Choose beans, lentils, plain Greek yogurt.

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• Add a few drops of a healthy fat, such as olive oil, and a little bit of sea salt. 

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• Use plastic utensils and avoid storing food in aluminum or metal containers. 

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• Try peppermint sugar-free gum.

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• For immediate symptomatic relief, try metallic taste oral rinse, MetaQil.

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Water Does Not Tastes Good

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• Try alkaline water

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• Try coconut water

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• Blend fruits with cold water or coconut water with watermelon or pineapple.

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• Infuse water with cucumber, mint, watermelon, or other fruits for flavor.

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Little research has examined the effectiveness and impact of such empirically selected interventions to provide. Often, patients manage the taste changes using their own trial-and-error interventions, as well as with measures that seem logical.

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Mouth Care

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• Brush your teeth after meals and before bed. 

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• To reduce the growth of harmful bacteria in the mouth and neutralize the acid, do mouth rinses with baking soda and salt before and after meals - Mix 1 liter of water, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking soda 

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Causes of Changes in Taste in Cancer 

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The chemotherapy can directly harm the taste buds, causing alterations in perception that vary from person to person (3).

 

Chemotherapy drugs most commonly associated with taste changes include:

• carboplatin, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, dacarbazine, dactinomycin, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, levamisole, mechlorethamine, methotrexate, paclitaxel, and vincristine (6).

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The taste buds are also susceptible to radiation therapy. Most patients receiving radiation therapy to the head and neck area complain that their food does not taste; the higher the irradiation doses, the more likely it is to damage the taste buds (7).

 

Radiation therapy in this area often also damages the salivary glands and causes a significant dryness of the mouth (xerostomia) and pain, which worsens the lack of perception of the taste of food (8).
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Other reasons that may cause taste alterations are oral surgeries, smoking, alcohol, zinc deficiency, aging, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, immunosuppressants, and dry mouth (10). 

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